TechFlow News — Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan yesterday shared his view that Bitcoin ETFs are being adopted by institutional investors at an unprecedented pace. He stressed not to believe the narrative of "only retail buyers," as data clearly shows otherwise. Since their launch in January, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $17.5 billion in net inflows, on track to surpass the previous record for first-year fundraising held by the Nasdaq-100 QQQ fund, which raised approximately $5 billion in its inaugural year.
Hougan rebutted critics who claim “only retail investors are buying, with no institutional participation.” While recent 13F filings show institutions hold only 21% of Bitcoin ETF assets under management (AUM), Hougan compared Bitcoin ETFs to the 10 fastest-growing ETFs in history and found that Bitcoin ETFs are far ahead in terms of institutional adoption—whether measured by number of institutions or AUM.
Hougan pointed out that the “issue” with Bitcoin ETFs is that retail adoption has been so massive that it overshadows institutional uptake. He emphasized that one should not be misled by the historic retail demand; these ETFs are also gaining institutional traction faster than any other ETF in history.
